New Exhibition Featuring Joan Horsfall Young, Darlyn Susan Yee, and Fielden Harper

TAG PRESENTS
New Exhibition Featuring
Joan Horsfall Young, Darlyn Susan Yee, and Fielden Harper

February 1 - February 26, 2011

Reception:
Saturday, February 5, 5- 8 PM

Artists' Q & A Panel:
Wednesday, February 9, 7 PM

Joan Horsfall Young: abc...z

In her latest exhibit, abc...z, local artist Joan Horsfall Young explores the beauty in simplicity with her 12" x 12" oil paintings of fruits and vegetables, depicting one for each letter of the alphabet. Her series of twenty-six images celebrates what she calls "the great sustainers of life." Young's inspiration for this series came from her recent visit with her granddaughter in Shanghai. She explains "I needed a way to teach my young granddaughter the American alphabet, and I found the fruits and vegetables in the local farmer's market to be great didactic tools for teaching. In the first days we conquered 'T' for tangerine and 'L' for leek." As a follow up for more practice for the little one, Young started to paint the vegetables and fruits as they went along. "I learned a lot about conscious eating and how these everyday market treats could nourish our bodies and our souls. I hope these paintings will capture that same nostalgia for others too."

Darlyn Susan Yee: Metamorphic Metaphors

In her new exhibition, Metamorphic Metaphors, Darlyn Susan Yee creates a series of body-like cocoons knitted with brightly colored commercial yarns to symbolize our essence, style, and transformation as we proceed through life. Suspended from the ceiling, each piece mimics the cocoon of a not-yet-hatched butterfly swaying with the breeze to evoke thoughts of dance or play. "In each piece, I try to explore how our personalities and physical characteristics are still evident despite our efforts and societal requirements to conceal them," explains Yee. Ms. Yee prefers using hands-on processes to achieve the breadth of texture and form in this series, combining both hand knitting and manually manipulated machine knitting techniques.

Fielden Harper: Parallels

In Parallels Fielden Harper explores thematic similarities between her local landscape and distant scenes from Greece and Turkey. After a recent trip to Greece and Turkey, Harper was inspired to juxtapose scenes from both areas with well known landmarks from her own hometown. "There were many scenes in my travels that reminded me of similar places in and around Santa Monica. As different as these places seemed on the surface, the artist in me started to see the universal patterns emerging in the disparate," explains Harper. Creating unique pairings of two separate paintings, Harper invites her viewers to discover the universal essence emerging from two seemingly different vistas like the Getty and the Parthenon; or the skyline of Istanbul and the towering palms of Santa Monica. "It is amazing to be on the other side of the world, and be continually reminded of home," states Harper.

An Interview With Joan Horsfall Young

Joan Horsfall Young
Nectarines
oil on board 12 x 12"

In ABC...Z, Joan Horsfall Young presents 12 inch square paintings of vegetables and fruits, one for each letter of the alphabet.

I’m getting hungry looking at your paintings. What inspired you to paint fruit and vegetables?

I was reviewing the letters of the alphabet with my three year old granddaughter and discovered that vegetables and fruits were the most poignant examples that I could find for her to connect the elementary sound of the letter with the visual image of the letter.

I like to think I know my vegetables and fruits, but I’m struggling to think what will represent X, or U and V - did you already know that there is a fruit or vegetable for every letter of the alphabet?

My granddaughter lives in Shanghai. Although she knew the names of some vegetables and fruits, usually it was in Chinese. So we determined to overcome this dilemma. By taking frequent walking excursions to the open market down the street we identified and learned the English names of some local products. When she correctly identified the letter the name the food starts with, we bought it, brought it home, prepared it and proudly presented it at dinner to Mommy and Daddy.

Each morning she could hardly wait to descend on the market to conquer another prize. As we walked we played food games. Imagine the games you can play with “a… artichoke”. Is it “a artichoke” or “an artichoke”? What is an artichoke? Why is it so prickly? Why is it called an artichoke? (Well, Arter ate it and choked on it, of course!)

In the first days we conquered “t…tangerine”, and “l…leek. “d…dates” came easily. It was thrilling to see her eating all these wonderfully healthy foods with such enthusiasm. Then disaster hit! We ran out of foods to fit the hard letters. I couldn’t find any thing for letters like “z” or “j”. There was no zucchini for “z” in this Chinese market. There was no jicama for “j”. What was I to do? There was nothing to do but to paint a painting for each letter. When I returned to California I did exactly that. As I was painting I reflected on what a joyous time I spent with her. We had connected on so many levels. A simple lettuce had inspired memory, emotion and action. We were away from the computer and all things commercial. All three generations had shared the art of conscious eating. Now, when I shop at the local farmer’s market, I reflect on how people across the world are doing the same, including my granddaughter.

I have produced a 6” x 6” booklet of all the images and letters and dedicated it to my grand daughter.

Did you have any difficulty finding the subject matter or keeping it fresh while working?

When living in England I ate a lot of vegetable marrow. In my frequent visits to China I ate a lot of zigua (small baseball sized watermelons). Jalapenos are indigenous to California and nearby Mexico. So I was familiar with all the foods, but finding them was not always easy. I had to wait through four seasons, to get them all.

What attracts you to this small format, and what do you like about it most?

I am usually a plein air or still life painter. This show really combines the two. All were painted from life. Because I wanted to limit the subject matter to just the fruit or vegetable, the small simple square format of 12 x 12" allows for personal compositions. There are a few that I would like to now paint on a much bigger scale.

I am hoping that viewers will enjoy these playful studies of vegetable and fruits. There is one for each letter of the alphabet. Will they be able to identify each letter before looking closely or if need be, reading the label?

As always my paintings are rendered with lots of thick buttery paint with loose brushwork. I strive for paucity. I want my paintings to be comfortable, pleasant to live with, charming, decorative… painterly not illustrative.

Joan Horsfall Young's exhibition starts February 1, 2011.

TAG Gallery Interviews Fielden Harper

Fielden Harper

Santorini

40 x 20" acrylic on canvas

Working with acrylic on wood and on canvas, Fielden Harper's paintings focus on the ways man has chosen to enclose his space.

Can you indentify at what point in your life you decided to be an artist?

I do not think I ever made a conscious decision; I just always was making things and assumed that I was an artist.

Can someone be taught to be an artist or is it something you’re born with?

I think that having a special way of thinking and seeing is what makes a person an artist and some people are born with it, but we can all learn from exposure. I have to think that way because I am a teacher and I believe deeply in that we can all be taught.

Who are your favorites artists/art influences - either historically or contemporary?

Diebenkorn and Hopper were the first artists I ever felt were my influences. Long before that I stood at the sewing machine and watched my grandmother make doll clothes and dresses for me from flat pieces of cloth and something was born in me watching her. Also, my mother nurtured my need to make art

How do you go about making a new work? What steps, or process do you use or go through?

I will be doing something and suddenly an idea will come into my mind. It will consume me and I cannot rest until I finally work it out on paper. That sketch tells me size and shape - the color just comes to me when I pick up the brush. I typically lay out the painting in one burst of energy. Then, I circle it and think about it before I go back in to refine it. The time varies, but I usually have several weeks between beginning a painting and completing it. If I am making an assemblage, I go more slowly. It may take months to complete a piece. I go slowly and carefully - my work pattern is opposite of the way I approach painting.

Do you work in more than one medium? If so, do they influence each other, and how?

I paint, sew, make assemblage, garden, cook hold my grandchildren and tell them stories - it is all part of a whole. I think that you can find traces of my thinking and my style in all that I do.

What do buildings mean to you? What is it about buildings that fascinates you so much, makes you want to paint them?

I have always been fascinated by the way in which Man has chosen to enclose space. I love the way the light changes on them throughout the day.

Which of your recent works did you find the most challenging to create? Why?

I am just finishing a painting of the Santa Monica Hospital and it has been so difficult because of the perspective involved. I must have reworked it four times over the past two months.

Who do you paint for?

Me.

Fielden Harper's exhibition opens February 1, 2011.